


Anchor Me or I'll Fly Away (Barry)

by Dynamic_Ideation



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 07:03:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3682554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dynamic_Ideation/pseuds/Dynamic_Ideation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They work in the same company, and Iris must literally talk Barry down from a ledge. </p><p>"he could tell by the way she stood, chin up, shoulders back, that she was used to carrying herself with abundant confidence. He saw her draw upon it as she answered him.</p><p>“I don’t think you want to do that. Once you step off that ledge, there’s no changing your mind.” "</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anchor Me or I'll Fly Away (Barry)

**Author's Note:**

> I also wrote a parallel fic in which their roles were reversed. Please read and let me know what you think!
> 
> Of course, I own nothing here I'm just your friendly neighborhood fangirl. Unbeta'd.

“Sir! Sir, wait!” Barry was caught off guard, but he couldn’t turn around to see who it was. If he did he would have fallen seventeen stories. 

He’d been standing on the ledge, on the roof of the Giegens Building, arms outstretched, imagining the sensation of flying just before it all went dark. 

“Wait,” the mystery woman said again. He lowered his arms, slowly, and turned around, slowly.  
“Yeah?” He said, feeling like an idiot the moment he opened his mouth.

The woman stood there staring at him, at a complete loss for words. She had a “captain of the cheerleading squad” look, and he couldn’t help but notice how breathtaking she was. he could tell by the way she stood, chin up, shoulders back, that she was used to carrying herself with abundant confidence. He saw her draw upon it as she answered him.

“I don’t think you want to do that. Once you step off that ledge, there’s no changing your mind.” He said nothing, just looked at her, trying to keep his lip from trembling. She chanced a step towards him. Her voice was so soft and gentle. Her head tilted and eyebrows furrowed when she said, “Would you maybe like to talk? I’ll just listen. I won’t say anything. You can talk to me.”

“That’s bullshit.You don’t even know me, and here you are acting like you care. ” He says before he can catch himself. The woman, for her part, doesn’t even flinch. He feels bad for snapping at her, this lovely person who was literally trying to talk him down off the ledge. “People claim to care,” He said, softer, the sadness showing in his voice. “But they don’t really, it’s all just lip service, to make themselves feel better, to make them sound like heroes and good friends. No one really notices. You wouldn’t care about me if I wasn’t standing up here like an idiot.” He raises his arms at his predicament, then drops them to his side in resignation. 

“I think you think no one notices you, but that’s not true. I see you sitting by yourself in the cafeteria, reading those giant science textbooks you always have with you, that I don’t even have the arm strength to lift. I think to myself, I wish I was half that smart. ” He smiled a little. “And you’re not too hard on the eyes either, if I’m being honest.” Now she smiled, and Barry felt himself go red. “You always had a certain sadness to you, like you’ve been down a hard road.” She went to him. “I never realized you were so tall.” She reached up and gently took his hand. “Come down and talk to me, please?” He couldn’t tell her no. He came down.

Away from the roof’s edge he sat on the raised foundation beneath some ancient satellite dish. She stood before him, giving him her undivided attention, and all of his thoughts suddenly spilled out. He knew the rooftop was a bad idea, he was just depressed and grieving and exhausted, and just wanted the pain to go away.  
“My mom was murdered in front of me when I was young, and they put my dad away for it but he’s innocent.I swear, He's innocent. He got denied parole and it’s the anniversary of her death and everything that could go wrong has. I’ve been fighting uphill for a long time, ever since that day, fifteen years ago. And I just can’t do it anymore.”

And this stranger, she drew him into her, cradling his head against her chest. He couldn’t help it; he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her, and wept. She was so tiny but he clung to her, feeling like he really would fly off the roof if he didn’t hold on. She let his snot and tears wet the blouse that probably had cost her a fortune. She rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair, while he cried so hard that he shook.

 

“I feel like such an idiot, so weak.”  
“But you’re not. You know what?” She cupped his cheek. “I see something in you, something special. I feel like you have a purpose here, that you were sent here to save people. I’m not sure exactly how, but I think that’s true or else you wouldn’t have made it this far. Do you think I’d lie to you about that?” She looked steadily into his eyes. He looked away and smiled a bit, even as he sniffled. “But for all the power in you, you’re still a human being. I think once you pull through these dark times, you’ll do some amazing things.”  
“Me?”  
“Mmm hmm.” It was so crazy, it just might be true. “You know, I’d like us to be friends.”  
He snorted. “Why would you want that? The first time we actually talk and you get a soap opera. Please, just save yourself the trouble. You don’t want to be bothered with someone like me.”  
“What if I do?” She said, placing a defiant hand on her hip. “I think I’m old enough to make my own decisions. Besides, you can’t stop me.” Her confident smile made him smile too. “I’m Iris, Iris West. What’s your name?”  
“Barry.” Iris West pulled him in for a hug. He felt…at home. and he felt something more when he thought about her radiant face and the tiny waist his arms were around. A fleeting thought entered his mind. Iris Allen? Iris West Allen? He dismissed it quickly; he was being ridiculous. But he did grin his hardest at her, because he couldn’t help but think things were about to get better for him.  
“I can’t tell you how glad I am you found me on this roof, Iris West.”


End file.
